Young jobseekers want more support

Many unemployed young people are dissatisfied with schemes to help them into jobs, with some losing hope that they will find work, a survey has found.

PUBLISHED: 00:33, Wed, Jul 3, 2013

Almost six in 10 of the 16 to 24-year-olds questioned said there is not enough for support to help them find a job [PA]

Almost six in 10 of the 16 to 24-year-olds questioned said there is not enough for support to help them find a job, according to the Local Government Association (LGA) poll.

It suggests that many people believe that the main barriers to finding work are lack of available jobs and lack of experience.

There were mixed views on services designed to help them find work. Around two in five (65%) said that Jobcentre Plus had not been helpful because it did not tell them anything new, while around half (52%) said it did not give them the skills or experience relevant for a job.

In comparison, 42% said that recruitment websites failed to tell them anything new, along with 30% who said the same about sixth form or college training.

Around a third (34%) did not think recruitment websites gave them the skills they need for a job, while almost half (47%) said this was true of sixth forms and colleges.

The poll, which surveyed 1,000 unemployed young people, more than half of whom had been out of work for more than six months, found that many are becoming disheartened by the search for a job. Just 28% of those who had been out of work for more than six months were optimistic that they would soon find a job, the survey suggests.

The latest official unemployment figures show that almost a million 16 to 24-year-olds are out of work.

David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "We need to radically rethink how we help young people into work. Youth unemployment is a long-term structural issue needing a coherent long-term solution, but successive governments have created a complex set of shifting services which are too remote and too poorly targeted to help individuals.

"While there are some good initiatives, too many encourage services like schools, colleges and third-sector providers to work in isolation of each other, with no clarity on who is responsible for leading the offer to young people on the ground."